One of the most important things I think I've learned about eating local over the last year, is the importance of having food stored for the time of the year when there are less local foods to choose from.
As the season of having so many more food choices approaches, I'm thinking a lot about what I want to preserve, how much to save and how to preserve it. It's also shaped what food crops are being grown in the garden.
The apple muffins are a great example of something done right. For these muffins I used apples from my tree that I had dried last summer. To use them for baking I soaked the apples in boiling water, diced them and then added them (and some local walnuts) to my favorite muffin recipe. Very yummy. The spread is locally made goat cheese. I was told by the cheese maker that it freezes very well!
The apples have also been very tasty in oatmeal. I've been dicing them and then adding the apples at the beginning of the cooking time for the oats.
Drying more apples is definitely on the "To-do" list.